From AZ Native to Big Time Star: Who is AZ Fam on the Phoenix Lights Lineup?

So most people, I’m assuming, go to a festival for the big headliners that are gonna be there. That’s cool, I get that, I want to go to see them too. But a lot of people underestimate the DJs that come before the headliners and y’all should honestly take the time to get to know these guys and gals. They are really really talented people who are right up to par with the headliners in their skill and musicality.

This is a tribute to all of our local AZ talent that we will be hosting at Phoenix Lights this upcoming weekend! I was able to reach out to several of the DJs who are playing and talk with them a little to get to know them. For those of them that did respond I’m just going to give a basic introduction and just give an overview of who they are and what they do when they aren’t slayin’ on the decks.

Brett Ortiz ~ Brett Ortiz  is one of the resident DJs at Relentless Beats. He gets booked mostly for trance shows, and if you went to Andrew Rayel and Heatbeat last weekend, then you probably also saw this guy up there cause he was opening for them! He also DJs at Bevvy and makes his own custom hats! He just finished working on a new reboot of Carte Blanche by Veracocha, check it out in the Soundcloud player below!

Dan Lunsford ~ Dan Lunsford has playing RB shows for nearly a decade and he is one of the locals that plays the RBDeep events for the most part. He has opened for some big names like Sasha, Maceo Plex, Green Velvet, Lee Burridge and many more. He plays mostly deep house and tech house. Here is his set from an RBDeep show back in November!

Costanza ~ Tommy Montanarella aka Costanza was originally from Bronx, NY, but now currently resides in Phoenix, AZ. His DJ career started in late 2014; though he began his musical career later in life, that does not discredit his abilities. His sound consists of a mix between traditional House and G-house, although Tommy is always looking to learn and grow as an artist. Major influences include Kolombo, Sharam Jey, Shiba San, & Thee Cool Cats. Check out his set when he opened for Kill the Noise back in October!

Bijou ~ Bijou is another resident DJ here at Relentless Beats. He’s been working real hard on some new music and it’ll be released this Tuesday actually! The first being BIJOU & Ryan Collins ft. Baby Eazy E – F*ck The Police which is being released worldwide on Snoop Dogg’s imprint Serious Pimp Records via itunes. The second being BIJOU & Ryan Collins – Back It Up which is being released on Mixfeeds Feature page for free download. Check out the pre release of Back It Up below!

Sam Groove ~  Sam Groove is the man. He’s the guy who started Dirty Disco which if you don’t know is Arizona’s local grown festival(*Psst* Getter is headlining). He just released some new music a little bit titled Spaceship, check it out below. If you ever want to find Sam too, there’s like a 90% chance that he is somewhere handing flyers out to people. Seriously the man is everywhere.

Michael Hooker ~  Currently based in Arizona, Michael currently DJs for the two biggest promoters in the state; Relentless Beats and Stateside Presents. He produces music under his own name and the pseudonym Micon for deeper house tracks. He also manages his chart topping record label Re:Sound Records which he founded in 2010. Check out his track Sidewards Glance below.

David Epstein ~ David has been DJing professional for almost 20 years. He grew up in the 80’s in the birthplace of techno – Detroit. “Musically, I play mostly underground house, techno, tech house, deep house; but my main genre I’m known for is real progressive house.” Lately, he’s been playing mostly RBDeep shows and he was the warm up act for Matt Lange and Jeremy Olander last month at Monarch.

Michelle Sparks ~ Michelle began DJing in 2006 devloping a sound which pushes the boundaries of forward thinking techno by intertwining spaced out minimal elements and grooves. She has released several tracks including Lobe on Suicide Robot and Tootsie Pops on Raise Recordings which reached #4 on Beatport’s Minimal Chart in 2014. Check out her track below!

Hopefully you guys are now a little more familiar with all of the local talent here in AZ. Take the time to go see one of their sets, I promise that they wont let you down and furthermore, maybe you might even get the chance to talk to them and say what’s up!

Maybe one day they will be touring the world like Phoenix Lights headliners/AZ natives Ghastly and Drezo!

If you haven’t gotten your Phoenix Lights tickets, do so quickly right here!